Mar 18, 2023 The book has been debated by Indologists over time and Kamil Zvelebil, the Czech expert on Tamil literature is of the opinion that this is the most fluid of Valluvar’s books, the others dealt with various teachings and social mores since the mentor steps aside to lose himself in the pleasures of love.
Mar 12, 2023 ‘The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise’ is a combination of musings, travels back in time, and actual wandering. It goes back and forth in time, drawing on Pico Iyer’s travels with his Japanese wife or the inspiration of his flamboyant friend Nicolas. While each place may be a paradise of sorts, the book is a counterpoint of the various shades of spirituality and the unlikely combinations those throw up.
Feb 26, 2023 Detail by detail the narrator takes us through his daughter’s school going, the tension of entrance interviews and all the things that anxious parents are aware of. That is when the book comes to life, the love of Oishi and her small world. The narrator covers the family things, a holiday with his wife, and their very Satyajit Ray-like meeting which led to love and marriage.
Feb 18, 2023 The book takes its title from verses by Qadir Baksh a lesser-known Urdu poet who wrote under the takhallus ‘Sabir’ and who referred to the number of houses that the British razed in Delhi, making Liddle’s account of the time a broken script indeed.
Feb 04, 2023 Like all creative people Muzaffar Ali spends his time picking up new details. Learning he writes is a lifelong pursuit, and the search for knowledge should ultimately lead one to 'truth.' This philosophy is something he picked up from the Sufi sages and which is followed throughout the pages of his autobiography 'Zikr'.
Jan 28, 2023 What emerges from the narrative is the fact that Corbett is above all a sportsman – he writes that for him hunting man-eaters is a sport, though it has the added advantage of saving human life.
Dec 25, 2022 Divided into three parts, The War Diary of Asha-San covers Asha’s growing up during 1943-45 and then moves onto the few short months in 1945 when she becomes part of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment and sees the destruction of her dreams with the defeat of the Indian National Army (INA) and Netaji’s eventual death, followed by her moving to India.
Dec 18, 2022 The book is visually rich documenting Indian Christmas art through Mughal miniatures and other arts and brings together local language hymns and poetry that many will be unaware of. Cake, of course, dominates, as it surely would, for what is Christmas without cake?
Nov 06, 2022 Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay put his formidable skills to writing about the supernatural when he wasn’t writing about village life and making waves with Pather Panchali or adventuring in Africa in the style of Rider Haggard.
Oct 22, 2022 With 'On the Pickle Trail: 100 Recipes from Around the World', Monish Gujaral’s intent is to reintroduce households to the pickle through a clutch of 100 recipes from around the world.
Sep 11, 2022 'The Whispering Chinar' paints a picture of Charbagh, village of the author Ali Rohila's own creation, set in the Pakhtunkhwa province. There is an unexpected thrust in every story of this book.
Aug 07, 2022 Anupama Raju’s debut novel digs deep into “the darkness of depression, desolation, and despair filtered by the unsatisfying phone calls of a lover who is always the first to hang up”, but, as the reviewer explains, it is only half of the narrative. There is light too.
Jul 17, 2022 Dhanapatir Char tells the story about the lives of women bought and sold without their consent or knowledge. Despite traces of magical realism, the novel is very solidly set in the unhappiness of the everyday world where women migrant workers are at the mercy of those in power.